09/03/2020
NEWS STORY
Carlos Sainz: "We go again! It's finally time to put to the test all the hard work done pre-season, both at the factory and during the winter test in Barcelona.
"We got a good understanding of the car during the six days of testing, but you can never really be sure of where your competitors are until the first race. What I'm sure of is that we're ready for the challenge. The excitement of the fans, the atmosphere around the track and the tension before lights-out make for an amazing weekend. I'm looking forward to the first on-track battle of the season."
Lando Norris: "I can't wait to go racing again in Australia, this time with the benefit of a year's experience behind me. My rookie season got off to a good start there in 2019, but as always I'm looking to improve wherever I can. I feel much more confident coming into this season than I did last year, and I'm really excited to get back in the car.
"The Albert Park circuit is pretty cool and the atmosphere is great thanks to the Aussie fans. As a street circuit you get really close to the wall on some parts of the track, and being brave has its benefits. I got a great reception here from the fans last year, so I'm excited to see everyone again. With my engineers we've done a lot of preparation over the winter and in pre-season testing, so we're ready to get back to racing. I can't wait to get the 2020 season started - it's looking like it will be a challenging but exciting one."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "We head to Australia ready and excited for another season to start. Following a successful pre-season testing, we feel prepared for the challenge of 2020 but conscious of where we need to focus. The Australian Grand Prix is where we first see how competitive all the teams are without the usual caveats of testing, so there is plenty to learn. We aim to hit the ground running at Albert Park and set ourselves up well for the rest of the season. Building our understanding of the MCL35 early in the year is crucial to our positive development.
"This will be my first time visiting Melbourne with McLaren, so I'm looking forward to seeing all the fans and taking in the amazing atmosphere. Starting the season with a back-to-back always raises challenges, but thanks to the hard work of the entire team both back at the factory and trackside, we head into the first two races prepared. Together with Carlos and Lando we're ready to go again for 2020."